Early the next morning, Ericka walked out to the courtyard where a carriage was awaiting its two passengers.

"Good morning, Lewis!" she called to the footman who was feeding the horse attached to the carriage.

"Ah, good morning, Princess. I'm glad to see you getting out of the palace to somewhere that's not a ship."

"How can I help it if the ocean is just a perfect place to spend a day or two or seven?"

"And you're being escorted by such a handsome fellow as well. You'll be the envy of every young woman in town."

Ericka laughed. "Arron is only a friend."

"Well, here's your 'friend' now."

The girl turned and watched Arron walk into the courtyard. He had dressed in dark blue pants, a white shirt, and a sleeveless black vest. She could feel another blush rising to her cheeks that she quickly willed away. "Good morning, Arron."

Good morning, Princess Ericka, he replied in the signed language.

Ericka smiled. "I see that you've picked up some signs." She began to move her hands as she spoke so that he could continue to learn a sign here and there. "How late did you and Sara stay up last night?"

Late.

Ericka laughed. "Then I hope you won't be too tired for our day out."

Arron shook his head as he smiled. His signing was slow and clumsy and he didn't have a very extensive vocabulary, but at least he had a better way to really talk to Ericka now and she seemed to be able to understand what he was trying to get across.

"Well, let's not waste anymore daylight."

Arron quickly went up to the carriage and held his hand out so that he could help Ericka inside. After's a good night's sleep, his legs were thankfully much stronger and there was no danger of them giving out on him again.

"Oh, thank you, sir."

Once she was seated, Arron pulled himself inside.

"Everyone ready?" Lewis called from the front.

"Ready!" Ericka called back.

"Then off we go!"

Arron felt his stomach lurch as the carriage took off. He looked over the side and was stunned that something could pull them across the land so quickly. He pointed to the animal leading the carriage.

"Oh, this is the sign for 'horse'," Ericka said as she moved her hand, assuming he wanted to know the sign rather than what the thing actually was.

This would work out rather well for him. This way, he could ask about all of the many wonderful things around them, and Ericka would never know that he was completely clueless about almost everything in her world. Well, at least no more than she probably already assumed after the whole debacle with the fork at dinner yesterday.

When the carriage tumbled across a bridge, Angel smiled as she swam alongside it in the water below. "Has she kissed him yet?" she called up.

"Not yet!" Sirena whispered back from inside the carriage.

Angel groaned in frustration. But on the bright side, her best friend still had two whole days left. That would be plenty of time for the princess to fall in love with him. How could she not?

The carriage rolled right into the middle of a busy square with all kinds of different people going about their day as if it wasn't one of the most important days of Arron's life. Once Lewis stopped the carriage, Arron quickly climbed out first and then helped Ericka out as well.

"Enjoy your day, Princess," Lewis smiled. "I'll be waiting right here for you both when you're ready to return to the palace."

"Thank you, Lewis. Please feel free to enjoy yourself today as well." She turned to face Arron. "Where would you like to go first?"

Arron looked around him at the various stalls and shops. There was so much to see that he had no idea where to start.

He rushed over to a stall selling hundreds of different types of flowers. The whole stall smelled so fresh and beautiful. He hadn't known that so many kinds of flowers existed, all of them unique and vibrantly colored. He wished he could just take all of them, but even he knew that was a ridiculous idea.

"See this one here?" Ericka said as she pointed to a purple one. "It's called a violet. And this one is a lily."

They're so pretty, Arron signed.

"Nothing brightens up a room quite like a pretty flower." She handed the woman behind the cart some coins and picked out a purple iris. Then she gently pinned it to the front of Arron's vest. "Or it can brighten up someone's clothing."

I love it.

She then noticed that he was still wearing the purple shell necklace. "This is really unique. Where did you get it?"

I don't remember.

He thought he could recall his mother mentioning to him that it had been a birthday gift from his father, but of course, he wouldn't remember that. Everyone remembered King Triton as a great warrior and a stern king, and Arron had heard enough stories from his brothers to know that those titles were well-earned. But wearing the shell made him think that Triton must've also been a loving father to his seven sons and knew what they wanted before they knew themselves.

Arron wished that he could remember him.

"Well, it suits you."

Thank you.

For the next few hours, Arron and Ericka walked around the town occasionally stopping inside a shop or in front of a stall. One of the stores happened to be an antique shop full of various items from at least fifty years ago or longer. Ericka warned him that everything was very old and expensive and that he had to be careful around the items inside. Arron was amazed at all of the human treasures that he had never seen before, despite previously owning hundreds of human objects. The place somewhat reminded him of his old grotto, and he felt a sliver of anger burn inside him as he recalled what had happened to it, but he quickly smothered the feeling since it had at least brought him to Ericka. He couldn't imagine how long it must've taken the owner to collect all of these treasures. As much as he wanted to carefully examine every single object in the store, he was too worried that he might accidentally break something if he touched any of it, and he knew how it would feel to lose even one of these treasures.

Seeing Arron's excitement and curiosity, the kind owner patiently explained what several items were and their uses and Arron soaked in all of the information, never able to get enough of it. Ericka remained thoroughly charmed at Arron's childlike excitement.

Later on, they went to one of the food stalls and had some sausages and warm bread for lunch along with some sugar cookies.

Some performers came out to the middle of the square and began doing elaborate stunts for the passing crowds. Arron watched in amazement as one of them lit three sticks on fire and then tossed them in the air from one hand to the other.

How does he not hurt himself?

"He probably has," Ericka answered. "I'm sure he's had to practice for many, many hours to be able to do that so well."

Another performer twisted and turned her body into such awkward and tight positions that Arron felt his own muscles get sore just watching her. After a couple more acts, the performers left and were replaced by a small band consisting of a violin, a harp, a flute, and a cello. It didn't take long for people to begin dancing around the square to the beautiful music.

"Arron, would you like to dance with me?" Ericka asked.

Arron quickly shook his head. As much as he had always wanted to know what it was like to dance with two legs, he had just mastered walking about twelve hours ago. He didn't need to try something else just yet.

I can't dance, he signed.

"It's easy. Come on, I'll teach you."

Arron looked at the other dancing couples. He supposed it didn't look too difficult and from what he could tell as he watched them, Ericka was offering to let him hold her in his arms. How could he turn that down?

Ericka smiled as she took his hand and led him over to the makeshift dance floor. "Okay, so put your right hand here on my waist," she instructed as she guided his hand to the small of her back. Arron felt his face warm again. "And then your other hand holds mine out like this. And now you just listen to the music and step with the beat." She carefully moved them both in small circles around the area. "See? Easy, right?"

Maybe it was easy for her, but Arron found it difficult to know where his feet were supposed to go and when, and he was terrified that he was going to accidentally step on her toes. But after a few minutes, he soon got the hang of moving around in time with the instruments.

"And if you want to switch things up, you can spin me like this."

She slowly helped him spin her around and then comfortably settled back into his arms. Arron watched another one of the men dip his partner. He quickly took note of where the couple's arms were and how the man pulled the woman back up and slipped back into the normal rhythm. Arron hoped that he could trust his strong arms to support Ericka where his legs had failed yesterday. Carefully, he imitated the other couple and slowly dipped her.

Ericka blushed as she met his crystal-blue eyes. "Wow, you…catch on quickly."

Arron gently pulled her back up as the song came to a close. Musical notes were beginning to swell inside of him in the excitement of the moment, but he realized that he now had no way of ridding himself of them. It was uncomfortably stifling, and he decided that he needed to figure out some way to expel the music inside of him without a voice to do it.

He glanced at one of the shops they hadn't yet visited and then looked through the window with curiosity.

"That's a music store," Ericka explained. "They sell all kinds of instruments like the ones that the band members are playing right now. Can you play anything?"

Arron walked into the store and looked around.

Coming from a musical family, all of the princes had learned how to play an instrument when they were young. After they turned 16, they could decide if they wanted to continue the lessons or focus on their other royal duties.

Arron didn't know if the instrument he'd learned to play underwater had an equal counterpart on land, but then there in the corner, he spotted a very large instrument that looked strikingly similar to the instrument he had studied (unwillingly) for about ten years.

"Do you play piano?" Ericka asked.

Oh, so it was called a piano. Arron ran his hand along the black and white keys and pressed down on some of them to release a beautiful musical sound that was even more melodic in the shop than it had ever sounded in the ocean.

He took a seat on the bench and softly began to play a sequence of repeating notes with his right hand while adding some chords here and there with his left hand. It took him a second to adjust to the differences between this instrument and the one he was used to, but he was pleased to find that the general idea of it remained the same.

Ericka smiled and listened as Arron played a beautiful song on the piano that she had never heard before. It started out on the far right side of the piano, but then he moved down two octaves and played a repeating melody, gradually adding more chords the more it repeated.

She slowly took a seat next to him on the piano bench. When he came to a point where he paused in the song, Ericka put her hands to the keys and repeated a sequence of several chords on the far left end of the piano in a faster tempo.

Arron looked at her in surprise before smiling at her. Then he repeated the melody again with her new chords to back it up and matched her new tempo. The addition fit perfectly with the original song he had learned as a child and brought to it a new life that he hadn't realized it needed. As they played the song together, Arron felt the buildup of notes in his chest release themselves with the piano keys.

Ericka played a few slower chords which gave Arron room to end the song.

When he lifted his fingers from the keys, Ericka laughed lightly. "So you do play piano."

So do you.

"I learned, but I didn't think I would ever actually enjoy it."

Me neither.

She laughed again. "Well, the day's almost over. Is there anything else you want to do before we go back to the palace?"

Arron's stomach clenched. How was his second day almost over already? There had to be something the both of them could do that would allow them to spend just a few more hours together. Not only was he not ready for the best day of his life to come to a close, but after this, he only had one more day to earn a kiss from Ericka, and who knew if the opportunity would present itself tomorrow?

"If you're up for it," Ericka offered as she began blushing again, "there's a beautiful lake nearby with some rowboats for people to use. We could go out onto the water for a little while. It's especially pretty at night with the moon out."

It was like she knew exactly what he needed.

That's perfect.

Ericka smiled. "I'll get Lewis to bring the carriage around."

She left his side to find their footman and Arron smiled broadly. Surely this moment would help lead to a kiss. He would win this deal easily.

"Young man," a voice called from one of the stalls.

Arron turned and approached the flower stall they had stopped at when they'd first arrived at the square.

"Take this," the owner smiled as she handed him a red rose. "For your beautiful young lady. In the language of flowers, it means 'love'."

Arron gestured to his pockets to show that he didn't have any way to pay for it.

"Oh, no, free of charge. Make sure you hold onto that girl. She's a special one."

Arron smiled and signed a 'thank you', hoping that even if she didn't know the signed language, she would be able to guess his meaning. He had every intention of holding onto Ericka. He would do anything to let her know how much she truly meant to him.

When Ericka returned, Arron presented her with the rose.

Ericka blushed as she took it from him. "Oh, thank you. It's beautiful."

Arron looked over at the owner of the flower stall, and the woman winked at him.

The carriage soon came rumbling towards them, and Arron helped Ericka inside before climbing in himself.

Then Lewis led the carriage down to the lake, and Arron saw that with the moon brightly reflecting on the water and lighting up the plants, trees, fish, and animals all living together in the area, it was an even more perfect setting to share a kiss than he had pictured.

"Shall I row you, my lady, or would you prefer to be alone?" Lewis asked.

"I think we can manage, right, Arron?"

Arron nodded. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to gracefully row a boat, but he'd rather not have Lewis in the boat with them while he tried to create a perfect moment for a kiss.

"Very well then. I'll wait here for you. Take all the time you'd like."

The attendant at the dock helped Ericka and Arron get a small rowboat into the water before helping each of them into it. Then he handed them both two oars and told them to be careful out in the water.

"All right, how about you take one oar and I'll take the other?" Ericka offered.

I can just take both, Arron signed.

"No, that just feels wrong. I can't let you do all the work."

Since Arron didn't know anything about rowing a boat, he decided that sharing the load might not be such a bad idea. Ericka sat in the front while Arron took the back and together, they paddled the rowboat across the water. It took some effort to figure out how to steer, but soon enough, they were able to settle into a peaceful rhythm. Neither of them spoke, and while Arron wanted to talk to her in his very limited time with her, he also appreciated her desire to listen to the music of nature for a while. Crickets chirped, frogs croaked, owls hooted, and water splashed. Arron had never heard such a beautiful symphony of sounds together before, and he could've easily stayed out on the water all night just listening to it all.

Ericka stopped paddling and tucked her oar into one of the boat's holders. Then she carefully turned around so she could face Arron. Arron put his oar into the other holder as well, and the boat began to slowly amble down the lake.

To Arron's embarrassment, they could suddenly hear a bird squawking and he immediately pegged it as Scuttle's attempt at making music.

"Oh, my," Ericka said. "Do you think that poor bird is injured?"

Arron put his hand to his mouth to stifle his laughter. Still a little bitter about Scuttle's incorrect knowledge about human tools, he didn't really mind the unintentional joke at her expense.

Sirena and Angel swam up next to the boat out of Ericka's sight, and Arron sent them a pleading look to make the horrible noise stop. The small crab and the striped fish gladly accepted the silent plea. After silencing the foolish seagull, Sirena used her powers of orchestration to create a perfect ambience for the two passengers with the crickets, birds, and various vegetation around the area. The rowboat floated beneath a weeping willow which gave them a place especially for the two of them. A place perfect for sharing a romantic kiss.

This is beautiful, Arron signed.

"This was my mother and father's favorite place," Ericka smiled fondly. "They were in an arranged marriage, but I'm certain that even if they weren't, they still would've married. I've never seen two people more in love. They used to come here all the time when they needed just a few minutes to themselves. And then after I was born, they brought me with them and it became my favorite place too. Being out on a ship in the ocean is where I feel the most comfortable, but…it's also an escape. This place is where I can face my problems and clear my head. It's where I feel them again."

They sound like amazing parents. You must miss them a lot.

Ericka nodded with a bittersweet smile. "If it wasn't for Grimhilda and some of the other servants…I don't know if I ever would've been able to move on."

It's nice that you have such a good relationship with your staff.

Back in Atlantica, Arron knew that some of the members of the royal family (namely, Adonis) didn't always treat their servants very well, and he had always wondered if human royalty acted the same.

Ericka chuckled. "It wasn't always that way. When I was younger, some princesses from the neighboring kingdoms visited the palace. We were taking tea in the gardens, and the other princesses started complaining about their servants. In order to fit in with them, I did too. Suffice it to say that my mother and father were not happy when they found out. And as punishment, they had me live and work as a servant for an entire week so that I could understand what they went through every day and appreciate what they do for me. Some people might say that was cruel of them, but I think it was one of the best things they ever did for me. That experience allowed me to befriend the servants and see them as equals instead of people beneath me. All of them were there for me when my parents died, and I can't imagine enduring that loss without their support."

It's sad to think those other princesses don't have those kinds of relationships.

Ericka smiled. "I'm impressed with how quickly you've picked up sign language."

Truthfully, Arron was a very quick learner. If he really put his mind to it, he could master almost any subject in a few months. The problem was that Arron could never focus long enough to actually study anything, even something he enjoyed. Whenever he tried to learn something, all he could think about was his treasure trove of human objects and where he could go next to find another one. Searching for human stuff had usually been the only thing that could capture his full attention.

It was kind of you to hire Sara.

Arron had never met someone who was deaf, but he imagined that not being able to hear anything would make it difficult for her to find work.

Ericka gave him an embarrassed look. "Not to keep tainting your high opinion of me, but I…was actually one of the people who was against hiring her when she first arrived looking for work," she admitted. "But some of the other servants convinced me to give her a chance. And now three years later, she's one of the best servants we've ever had in the palace. I learned that I should judge people by what they can do, not what they can't. I had all of the palace staff learn how to communicate with her, and then I learned the signed language myself because I never wanted her to feel like she didn't have a voice in my palace." Ericka looked at him earnestly. "And I want you to know that the same goes for you. Even if you can't speak, please don't feel like you don't have a voice."

You and Sara have given me a way to communicate which is more than I ever could've asked for.

"You have my word that Sara and I will teach you more and more signs every day so that you will never be without a way to talk. I want to know everything you have to say."

Arron smiled kindly at her. With the moon shining down onto her black hair, she looked especially beautiful and angelic and he didn't think it was possible for him to love her more.

He gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear which made her cheeks redden. Then he nervously began to move closer to her, afraid that she would pull back. Even if his freedom wasn't riding on this kiss, he would never want to force her to do something she wasn't comfortable with. But to his delight, Ericka began moving closer to him as well.

Her eyes closed. Then so did his.

An inch away…a centimeter away…

And then the boat tipped over and Arron and Ericka fell into the water. Fortunately, the water was only about knee-deep, but both of them still became completely drenched.

Ericka wiped her eyes and moved her wet hair out of her face as she coughed. "Are you all right?"

Arron nodded as he helped her stand up. He'd been so close.

He'd been extremely close. So close that there was no way that the boat tipping over was some random accident.

With a growing sense of dread, Arron realized that there was only one creature who stood to lose something if Arron earned a kiss from the princess. And if the sorcerer was willing to interfere with Arron's deal, how many other merfolk had he cheated out of their own deals to ensure that he was the victor?

Arron helped Ericka flip the boat back over then they carefully managed to climb back inside. Ericka blushed yet again when she realized that Arron's blue shirt now clung tightly to his body and accented each muscle on both of his arms. And then she realized that she probably looked the same way in her white shirt and nervously cleared her throat as she covered her chest with her arms.

Arron noticed that Ericka looked uncomfortable and…scared, like she thought he might hurt her. Quickly understanding the problem, he took off his black vest and carefully draped it around her shoulders.

Ericka smiled gratefully as she put the vest over her white shirt. "Thank you. Let's head back to the palace and get into some dry clothes."

Arron sighed heavily. He couldn't let this bring him down. He still had one more day, so he just had to make sure he found a way to earn a kiss from Ericka tomorrow…and stay away from water at all costs.

Ursulus watched the whole interaction from his glowing orb, hot fury boiling inside him. He was just lucky that his eels had gotten to the boat and flipped it in time or all of his careful planning would've been for nothing and he would be right back where he started.

"That was a close one," he growled. "Too close. That little brat! How was I to know the humans have an entire language that uses their hands? I should've taken those from him as well. At this rate, she'll be kissing him by tomorrow's sunset for sure."

He angrily swam over to the cabinet that housed all of his ingredients for potions and threw several of them into his cauldron which made his lair begin to glow an angry and eerie yellow.

"It's time Ursulus took matters into his own tentacles!"

He tossed one more ingredient into the cauldron which exploded on contact and began to fill the lair with smoke.

"Athena's son will be mine! And then I'll make that wretched queen regret ever banishing me. I'll watch her suffer for the rest of her miserable life. I'll see her wriggle like a worm on a hook!"

Ursulus clutched the same nautilus shell that contained Arron's voice and began cackling madly which echoed all throughout the lair.

Then his white hair darkened, his tentacles disappeared, and his mad cackle transformed into something no creature of land or sea had ever heard before: the smooth evil laugh of a young merprince.